Read our latest highlights from the live classical music offer in Manchester and the North, taking in a number of the region’s most cherished ensembles and venues.
Want more music? Head to our general Music guide for our latest scoop on the North’s best gigs and festivals.
Leeds International Concert Season is on a mission to push boundaries, expand horizons, and ask the question: ‘What haven’t we heard?’ as it presents its city-spanning Sound Out Leeds series.
Home to the Hallé and the BBC Philharmonic orchestras, the Bridgewater Hall attracts some of the biggest names in classical music. Purpose-built to the tune of £42m, the hall was designed around its acoustic needs; it floats on 280 earthquake-proof isolations springs that mute all external noise, perfect for shielding around 250 performances a year from the trams outside.
The Royal Northern College of Music is both a music venue and an academic institution training up some of the country’s finest music students.
Still Manchester’s newest kid on the concert hall block, The Stoller Hall opened its doors in April 2017 to further enhance the city’s already enviable live music provision.
The 1930s Art Deco Philharmonic Hall, home to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, gives no hint of the sensuous curves of the auditorium inside from its hard exterior.
Hallé St Peter’s is a deconsecrated Grade-II listed church, once a theatre prop store, then a knitting factory, before being restored and becoming home to the Hallé orchestra.
Manchester’s Albert Hall is an astounding Wesleyan Chapel turned live music venue, regularly hosting classical concerts.
Manchester Cathedral dates back to at least the 1400s and has been rebuilt many times. In current, striking form, it’s still a place of worship, but also host to regular gigs and events.
The Hallé invites audiences to a year of classical masterpieces, world premieres and appearances by some electrifying artists and composers.
From £17
BC Camplight has spun deportation, addiction and breakdown into a catalogue of tragicomic brilliance – and his solo show lays it all bare.
From £14.00
A quietly radical force in contemporary club culture, John Talabot returns to The White Hotel for one of his signature all-night sessions.
From £13.00
10 emerging artists, 10 easels, 30 minutes on the clock. Brushes clash. The crowd decides. Stretford Mall goes out swinging.
From £17.50
Open-air club Progress scales up to 5000 capacity and launches a spring/summer season of forward-thinking electronic music and grassroots culture.
From £0.00
Manchester Psych Fest, the UK’s trailblazing psychedelic music and arts festival has announced a massive bill for its 2025 edition.
From £44.80
Leeds International Concert Season is on a mission to push boundaries, expand horizons, and ask the question: ‘What haven’t we heard?’ as it presents its city-spanning Sound Out Leeds series.
From £10.00
Get priority booking on the best seats, special discounts, invitations to exclusive events and much more. Are you in?
From £45.00
Launchpad & Slam Dunk have teamed up for a new Youth Showcase event, featuring 5 artists all aged 18 and under based in West Yorkshire performing at one of Leeds
From £8.00
Band on the Wall bring people together to make, as well as watch, music. Join them to learn folk tunes from all over the world.
Explore the abundant musical heritage of Manchester’s neighbour with the Stockport Music Story Walking Tour.
From £5.00
Join the electrifying musical ‘That Night in Manchester’. Immerse yourself in the vibrant Manchester indie scene. Step into the Madchester time machine as you hear a father recount the highs and lows of his life to his only son during the Madchester era spanning his life through the 70’s 80’s & 90’s as you experience the music performed live on stage.
Presenting the best walking tours in Manchester for history buffs, culture enthusiasts, and those looking to scratch beneath the surface of the city.
Take me there
From the team behind the Kazimier, the Invisible Wind Factory is Liverpool’s most eclectic live music venue and nightclub.
District Liverpool is a multi-purpose venue in the Baltic Quarter, hosting gigs, club nights, films, cabaret, festivals and much more.
The Martin Harris Centre is a performance space off Manchester’s Oxford Road
Basement venue at the University of Manchester Students’ Union building.
Portmeirion was created by the architect Clough Williams-Ellis from 1925 to 1976. He wanted to show how a naturally beautiful site could be developed without spoiling it – and hoped the village…
The Carlton Club is a social club with a fully licensed bar, snooker tables and dance floor in the South Manchester suburb of Whalley Range.
A converted fire station in the City of Carlisle, this venue offers a variety of spaces for live performances, workshops, exhibitions and more.
New Adelphi is the University of Salford’s newest building, and is home to the School of Arts & Media and the New Adelphi Theatre. The £55m New Adelphi building opened on…
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